I have my quilt done and was going to put the border on today and realized I dont have enough fabric to go up either side so it is going to have to be a pieced border of some sort. Do you have any suggestions? I have included both the quilt and the 3 fabrics that I have. If you have links to patterns or pictures that would help me that would be great!!! (The quilt inspector is my dog Copper...but he was out of ideas too!;))

Are these fabrics that are in your top? I'm not sure I'm seeing that green in there.

What about putting a band of the green up one side and top, the red on the other side and bottom ... a little like an 'attic window' border. I'd use the more solid colours so they 'frame' the top. The pattern might blend in too much?

I'd make the bands the same width as the strips you've used in your blocks (so the band would finish 1/4 as wide as the block).

I found all the left over pieces but none are huge some are only 2 inches wide. I am not sure what the heck the best pieced border would be. I have been searching forever just nothing finding anything :( do you think if i bought another fabric and went down the sides like 2in border of solid color and then did a row of like 2x6 fabrics and then another row of 2in solid that would be too much or just right?

Another thought would be to do a solid border and then use the red and blue fabric that you showed us for the scrappy border, like you described, only 3" X 6" or 4" X 6" depending on the size of your quilt. :D

Or it could be pieced with a 3" X 6" of the red and then a 2" X 3" strip of your scraps from your quilt and then a 3" X 6" strip of the blue fabric...keep alternating....
then you can lay the border strips around the quilt to find a way that looks pleasing to you, where the pieces will meet in the corners, and then trim the borders to length.

If you are going to piece the borders, a suggestion is to make the pieced sections not the same lengths as your blocks. That way it keeps with the scrappy look, and you will not have all of those intersections to match :wink:

What would look cool and "on purpose" on this quilt would be to use one of the solids as a corner stone and then one square past the corner so that the color goes around the corner but just do that on two opposite corners and then use the print for the rest of the border.

That's a very pretty quilt. Do you need a border to make it bigger, or do you just think every quilt should have a border? The reason I ask is that I think this quilt would look great without a border. And don't forget that you will need fabric for the binding.

If you do need to make it bigger, you could wait until you get the fabric for the back. Order enough so that you can do a thin inner border with the backing fabric (1" wide), and then do piano keys with whatever fabrics you have left over from the front, mixing in a few keys from the backing fabric.

Here is a Website I have used on 2 of my quilts I am working on now. www.easy quilt border patterns., off of Copernic. They are easy which I like, since I know I am not, nor ever will be, the world's greatest quilter!
Really colorful top you have. On mine, I used an off-White strip to balance the colors and give the eyes a rest. I got this fabric from a Website I just by accident found; the name of the fabric pattern is Confetti, and I really like it!
Good luck!
marta[email protected]

This is really a nice pattern to use for borders or as a table runner.
I would take the easy way out of your issue and just purchase more backing material and use it for the binding too.
Or, maybe you can use what you have and combine the fabric for a pieced back. Your fabric choice is nice.
Is there a possibility that you can go on line and find matching fabric?

No border!!!! That pattern is best seen with just a border. Cut binding at 2 adn a half inches fold over and press. Put the binding on with a walking foot. The quilt looks great. The border would definetly take away the look of the great blocks. Saw this quilt many times at the guild with out a border. Roz :thumbup:

No border!!!! That pattern is best seen without a border. Cut binding at 2 adn a half inches fold over and press. Put the binding on with a walking foot. The quilt looks great. The border would definetly take away the look of the great blocks. Saw this quilt many times at the guild with out a border. Roz :thumbup:

I wouldn't put a border on, unless you need to make it bigger. If you do need to add a border, I wouldn't introduce a new fabric. You could use one of your fabrics to border the sides and then use the other fabric to border the top and bottom. Make half square triangles for the corners which will give a mitered look.

How about using the fabric from your backing, leaving it larger than the quilt top, and folding it over and stitching it down? I had to do that with a recent quilt, and it worked out real well. I even had the quilt machine quilted, and she was able to stay inside so I could fold it over. I hope you find a solution!

I think the solid color 1 1/2 inch than the print fabric 2 1/2 or 3 inches will pull the whole quilt together, it will show your blocks and the look is nice, than do a scrappy binding of your remaining fabric